The Little

The Little (Kanji: 小, Katakana: リタル, Romanji: Ritaru) is a Clow Card that can shrink any creature or object, simply by touching them. This also shrinks the victim's ability to use magic. Coming into contact with Little again will restore an afflicted target to its original size. Though small in size, Little is very nimble and fast with its prodigious jumping skill.

Little is aligned under the Light card, and under the power of the Sun, Cerberus, and Western Magic, as is her opposite card, the Big card.

Contents

Background

Appearance

The Little's visible form is tiny: the first time Sakura Kinomoto saw it all she could initially perceive was a tiny pinprick of bouncing yellow pulsating light. Even after she is shrunk, Sakura is still taller than Little's physical body.[1] Its visible form actually resembles a tiny, yellowish jester-like little girl. its sleeves cover its hands.

Little shares many similar physical traits with its sister card: The Big, except the most notable differences: color and size.

Personality

Little is a very mischievous card with something of a sadistic streak. After it shrunk Sakura to a height of a few inches, Little appeared to greatly enjoy taunting Sakura and giggling at the misfortunes she endures, regularly riling her up and provoking her.

Synopsis

Capture

A shrunken Sakura chases after Little ...to no success.

Tomoyo Daidouji heads over to Sakura's house one day to show her some of her new battle costumes and take measurements for future ones. At Sakura's house, the Little Card suddenly appears. Sakura senses the card entering and leaves Tomoyo and Kero (Cerberus) to go and look for it. The Little is waiting patiently for her in her father's empty bedroom, hopping up and down on his bed. Because of its minuscule size all Sakura can initially see of it is a tiny glowing yellow orb.

Sakura finally catches Little.

Sakura stands close to the edge of the bed peering at the ball; unsure if it was what she was sensing, when it suddenly lashes out and strikes her on the chest. The push is deceptively strong and, aided by Sakura's surprise, the orb knocks her down. A bright yellow light briefly illuminates the bedroom. Sakura stirs and, to her mounting horror, discovers she has been shrunk down to a tiny size.

The Little Card proceeds to lead Sakura on a wild chase, taunting and mocking her. Sakura finally manages to return to her normal size again after she rides atop Kero's back and, catching Little by surprise, grasps hold of it in mid-air.

Later, Sakura, Tomoyo, Touya, and Yukito are enjoying Tomoyo's strawberry tart that she brought, when Sakura remembers that she promised Kero a piece. In the end, Sakura manages to get him a tiny slice. He whines and then she uses the Little card to make him tiny. Kero happily eats the now huge slice of cake.

Transformation

The Little and Big transformed into Sakura cards.

Little appears again and is transformed into a Sakura card in Episode 55. At the start Sakura is reading from Alice in Wonderland and sympathizes with the title character. Sakura knows about changing size and thinks back to her first encounters with the Little and Big card's: first being shrunk an inch tall and then growing gigantic and wrestling with the Dragon. “It’s very tough,” Sakura comments empathetically.[2]

After falling into a simulacrum of Wonderland inhabited by copies of her friends assuming roles featured in the novel, Sakura endures several trails. One is shrinking to a few inches high after drinking some tea at the Mad Hatter's (Touya)'s tea party. After Sakura uses the Big card, she becomes too big and then needs to correct it.

She is able to rectify the problem by transforming the Little card to reverse the effect and it shrinks her down back to her regular size, and this time she is successful.[2]